Pastoral Care
We attach great importance to the pastoral care of our children and the development of a caring Synagogue is something which runs through all we do at Westminster Synagogue. If a problem arises at home which affects your child, you are encouraged to discuss the matter with staff. Similarly, a teacher may wish to discuss a problem that arises here in Synagogue with parents. Of course all information of this nature will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Concerns
If you have any concerns about your child’s happiness please discuss these with the teacher or the Head of Education in the first instance. If you think your child is having difficulties with another child, please speak to the class teacher.
Behaviour
Or Shabbat and our children’s education programmes run on the same basis as the famous words of Rabbi Hillel when he said “What is hateful to yourself, do not do to your fellow man. That is the whole Torah; the rest is just commentary.” In other words, we expect everybody in our learning community to respect each other. We have rules, rewards and consequences. Positive behaviour is rewarded and there are sanctions for unacceptable behaviour. We expect parents’ support, as it is essential that home and the Synagogue work closely together. Excellent behaviour is expected and children are reminded, in particular, that bullying, bad language and racist behaviour will not be tolerated at Westminster Synagogue.
Please find our Child Protection and Safeguarding policies, along with our Behaviour Policy, and Anti-Bullying and Racist Behaviour policies below.
Safeguarding
The Synagogue has Designated Members of Staff for safeguarding, they are:
Daniela Rotbande (Head of Youth Education) - Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Children.
Gary Sakol (Executive Director) - Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Adults with Support and Care Needs.
- Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) for Children.
Please click here to read our Safeguarding Statement.
Please click here to read our Safeguarding Policies.
It is the duty of all staff to report to the Designated Safeguarding Lead any concerns they have about the safety and welfare of any child.
The DSL will take advice from the Westminster Access Team which includes the Child Protection Advisory Team. The Synagogue has a duty to refer information, but are not the investigators. Records will be kept and children will be monitored. Referral may take place at a later date if the adviser has collected further pieces of evidence that cause concern.
All staff have a professional responsibility to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children.
While every effort will be made to inform parents of a referral to the Westminster Access/Child Protection Advisory Team, the safety and welfare of the child will always be the overriding consideration and parents may not always be informed.
